Board game apparatus with concealed,upwardly projectable playing piece



Aug. 19,1969 D. c. GIRAUD ETAL 3,452,154

BOARD GAME APPARATUS WITH CONCEALED, ,UPWARDLY PROJECTABLE PLAYING PIECE Filed Feb. 9, 1957' N V E N TO R5 DEN/5E 6. 6/174 (/0 60470 C- MEYEQ MAFV/A 61.455

BY ATT NEY5 United States Patent Int. Cl. A63f 3/00 US. Cl. 273-135 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A three-dimensional game board which is arranged generally to provide a sequence of hollow portions or cells, each having a removable cover. A playing piece is arranged for concealment beneath a selected cover in a latched biased position, and a key means is provided for insertion in an opening in the board and which will release the playing piece for upward movement when the latter is engaged by such key means. Each of the covers is distinctively illustrated, and the game includes a plurality of cards, bearing illustrations suggesting those on the board, which serve as clues to the players who are attempting to locate the concealed playing piece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to games, and is particularly directed to a game involving skill in achieving a goal through the use of clues.

It is believed that this invention departs particularly from the clue type of games known heretofore by providing a three-dimensional board wherein the object to be searched for by the players may be concealed in any of several positions, and wherein the location of the object results in such object popping up out of the board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the container or playing board;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan view of the same with parts broken away to show the interior;

FIGURE 3 is a further enlarged vertical sectional view on the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of one of the playing pieces; and

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of one of a pack of cards used in playing the game.

The equipment for playing the game comprises a game board in the form of a tray-like container, generally designated as 10, which has appreciable depth and which may be of any desired shape, although conveniently of square or other rectangular shape. The board is divided into a large number of boxes or cells 12, preferably all alike so that detailed description of one will suffice for all, although attention is directed particularly to one cell 14 for a purpose to appear. As best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, cell 14 includes a floor or bottom wall 16, front and rear side walls 18 and 20, and right and left side walls 22 and 24. Side walls 18 and 20 have inwardly directed rims or lips 26 and 28 near the upper edges thereof, and side walls 22 and 24 have inwardly directed lips 30 and 32, preferably continuous with lips 26 and 28, so as to form a rim around the interior of cell 14 close to the top thereof. Such a structure is readily formed of one of the well-known plastic materials preferably used in the making of the device.

As set up for playing, each cell 12, 14, etc., will have 3,462,154 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 a cover 34, preferably of cardboard, with the several covers forming a playing surface composed of a large number of squares or spaces. On each cover there is printed a picture or other legend, with no two covers being alike, and these legends have significance in playing the game. For example, a pack of clue cards is provided, with each card, one being indicated at 36 in FIGURE 6, relating to one of the pictures or legends on the covers 34, such as a harness on the card 36 being related to a horse on one of the covers.

Each player is provided with a playing piece, in the present embodiment a dog 38, which may be moved along over the squares or covers 34. Hidden under one of the covers, in cell 14 in the illustration, is an object 40 being searched for by the players. In the illustrated embodiment, this object is appropriately in the shape of a bone which is pressed upwardly by a spring 42 but caught under lips 26 and 28 so as not to press upwardly on cover 34.

It will be apparent that bone 40, if displaced so that one end were to escape from beneath lip 28 or 26, would be projected upward by the force of spring 42 and would throw cover 34 oh or to one side.

Bone 40 is shifted by means of a key 44 which has an actuating lip 46 and which is inserted into hole 48 in the upper end of an enlarged portion 50 of side wall 20, actuating lip 46 being of a width to span the space between a shoulder 52 on portion 50 and the under side of lip 28. Actuating lip 46 enters through a slot 54, and, when the key is turned, contacts the end of bone 40 and displaces it sufficiently so that it escapes from beneath lip 28 to be projected upwardly by spring 42, together with cover 34.

It is to be understood that all of the many cells 12 are provided with holes 48 and slots 54, for reception of key 44.

Walls 18, 20, 22 and 24 are continued upwardly beyond lips 26, 28, 30 and 32 a short distance, on the order of the thickness of covers 34, so that, with the covers in place, a substantially level playing surface is presented on top of cells 12 and 14, but divided into squares by the upper extremities of the Walls of cells 12 and 14, extending beyond lips 26, 28, 30 and 32.

At the four corners of the game board, surfaces 56, 58, 60 and 62 are provided, preferably slightly depressed in relation to covers 34, defining the home positions of the players tokens or dogs, each surface being preferably of a different color.

The game may be played by varying numbers of players up to five, the first of the players having possession of the pack of clue cards. The other players are blindfolded and each is provided with a dog 38 and a key 44. The dogs have different colors corresponding to the colors of the home positions, and each dog has a key of matching color, so that a dog and key of one color may be allotted to each player. The first player then removes at random one of the covers 34 and inserts the bone 40 beneath it, while compressing spring 42, and catches the ends of the bone beneath lips 26 and 28 so that the bone is retained in cell 14 and spring 42 is maintained in its compressed condition. He then replaces cover 34. The blindfolds are then removed from the other players and the first player hands one of the cards 36 from the pack to each of the other players, selecting one which suggests the cover 34 under which the bone is concealed or the general location thereof, thereby giving a clue to the player as to the location of the bone. When any player believes he knows which cell contains the bone, he inserts his key in the hole 48 associated with the suspected cell and turns it. If he has decided rightly, the bone will pop out of the cell, displacing cover 34, and the player will have won the game. If it does not, he has decided wrongly and he is penalized, as by being removed from the game, and the turn goes to the next player.

The difiiculty of the game may be adjusted to fit the ages or degrees of attainment of the players by selecting clues of greater or less obviousness, so as to make it available to children of a wide range of ages.

What is claimed is:

1. Game apparatus comprising a three-dimensional playing board including means defining a plurality of recesses therein, a separate removable cover for each of said recesses, a single playing piece positioned in a selected one of said recesses and concealed beneath the cover thereof, said playing piece and said board including parts cooperable to releasably latch said piece in an upwardly biased position within the selected one of said recesses, and an opening in said board adjacent each of said recesses, a releasing device insertable into the opening associated with any selected recess and rotatable when so inserted to move a part thereof disposed below the board into engagement with one of the latch parts associated with the selected recess, said device and said latch part being so constructed and relatively arranged that said latch part is moved into latch releasing position in re sponse to said engagement, whereby said playing piece is released and moved upwardly with the overlying cover.

2. Game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said board is generally rectangular and said recesses are arranged in series across the width and length of the board.

3. Game apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein each of the removable covers for said recesses includes dilferent indicia thereon, and said apparatus further including a deck of playing cards each bearing an indicia suggestive of the indicia on a plurality of said covers and comprising groups of cards wherein the cards of each group suggest different cover indicia.

4. Game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cooperable parts for releasably latching said piece in position include an inwardly extending edge portion around each recess, said playing piece is elongated and of a length to extend under opposite parts of said edge portion, and said parts include a spring positioned between the bottom of the recess and said playing piece.

5. Game apparatus comprising a generally rectangular three-dimensional playing board including means defining a series of adjoining rectangular recesses extending the length and width of the board, a removable cover for each of said recesses, a marker for movement along the paths defined by said covers, a playing piece adapted to be placed in any one of said recesses beneath and concealed by its cover, said playing piece and board including cooperable parts thereon for releasably latching said piece in a predetermined position and upwardly biased within any of said recesses, an opening in said board adjacent each of said recesses, a key adapted to be inserted in said openings and operable to release said playing piece, said key and opening being so formed and so positioned with respect to said piece in its predetermined position that when the latter is engaged by said key it is rotated out of said predetermined position within the recess and projected upwardly by the biasing means, said covers having distinctive indicia thereon, and a plurality of playing cards, said playing cards being divided into groups, the cards in each group having indicia suggestive of the same cover indicia, and each cover indicia being suggested by the indicia on a plurality of cards.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 972,147 10/1910 Averill 46l46 1,637,922 8/1927 Sullivan 273-136 2,050,892 8/1936 Marx 46145 X 2,303,652 12/1942 McGaugh et a1. 46l46 2,963,796 12/1960 Zalkind 46145 X 3,347,548 10/1967 Glass et al 273-139 X FOREIGN PATENTS 938,593 10/1963 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

